UK and most other
western nationalities require a visa to visit Sri Lanka. You can get an
e-visa online at
www.eta.gov.lk.
Alternatively, UK residents can get a visa from the Sri Lanka High
Commission in London,
www.srilankahighcommission.co.uk.

Page last
updated:

13 January 2015.

Train
travel in Sri Lanka

Interactive
route map...

The timetables on this page show the principal trains on
the most popular routes, although there are other
trains, stations and routes in Sri Lanka (although no trains to Talaimannar).
You can
check routes and train times at the Sri Lanka
Railways website,
www.railway.gov.lk. There is also train
information at
http://colombofort.com
or www.reddottours.com. If you visit Sri
Lanka,
feedback would be appreciated!

1st class sleepers. 1st class sleeping-berths are available on
a few overnight
trains. The cars have lockable 2-berth
compartments with separate toilet and washbasin.
These cars are old, fairly basic and grubby, so manage your expectations
accordingly, but they are comfortable enough, they
provide privacy and clean bedding is provided. You can see some photos of
a first class sleeper
on this blog.

1st class observation car. A 1st class
observation car is available on one or two of the daytime
trains on the amazingly scenic route from Colombo to
Kandy and Badulla. The observation car is normally
at the rear of the train or occasionally behind the
locomotive and has comfortable though slightly grubby
armchairs facing a large window looking back along the
track. Seats must be reserved before departure.
Seats can be reserved within 10 days of departure, but
book early as the observation car is very popular and
gets booked up fast, especially during school holidays.
However, the new Chinese-built blue trains now operating
several departures on this route don't have
observation cars.

1st class air-conditioned seats car. The
new Chinese-built blue trains on the route from Colombo
to Kandy & Badulla feature modern
air-conditioned 1st class seats cars (Travel tip: You may actually prefer
2nd class as the opening windows in the non-A/C 2nd class cars are much better
for photography and sightseeing). Air-conditioned 1st class
seats are also available
on one or two InterCity Express trains between Colombo &
Vavunia and Colombo & Batticaloa.

2nd class seats, available on all trains. These come in several versions,
depending on the train: (1) unreserved seats,
where you buy a ticket, hop on and sit in any available
seat, (2) reserved
seats where you must make a reservation and you get an
allocated seat, and (3) reserved 'sleeperette' reclining seats
which are available on most overnight trains and recline
to about 45 degrees for sleeping.
2nd class seats are the recommended option on trains with no 1st
class.

3rd class seats, available on most trains. These come in several versions,
depending on the train: Unreserved seats, reserved
seats, and reserved 'sleeperette' reclining seats.
3rd class is very basic and gets very crowded, and it is not generally
recommended for visitors.

Privately-run ExpoRail & Rajadhani carriages:
A couple of trains a
day on the Colombo to Kandy & Badulla route now carry
a
privately-run deluxe car with special fares, WiFi, power
sockets & inclusive meals, see
www.exporail.lk. A similar private
air-conditioned carriage is run by
www.rajadhani.lk also on the Colombo to Kandy & Badulla route
and on the Colombo to Galle & Matara route.

The regular Sri Lanka Railways
trains cannot be booked online, but it's easy to buy tickets when you get to
Sri Lanka at the station. In Colombo, there is a special ticket window
for tourists in the 1st & 2nd class advance booking office at the east end
of Colombo Fort station.

Reservations for trains with
reserved seating such as InterCity Express trains open 45 days in advance
(extended from 10 days in late 2013). Seats in the 1st class observation car from
Colombo to Kandy can get fully-booked from time to time,
so book a few days ahead if you can, but you may well
find seats available on the day of travel. Other trains (shown as having
unreserved seats) don't require a reservation, you just buy a ticket on
and hop on.

How to buy in advance
before you get to Sri Lanka:
If you
really want to pre-book a train before you get
to Sri Lanka, and are prepared to pay a booking fee, try
contacting a local travel agency. Here are several to try.
Let me know if you find a good agency!

2) You can also try
www.camlolanka.com, suggested by one
correspondent, just be prepared to persuade them you don't want a car & driver!

3) You can also try asking your hotel to
arrange tickets for you. If you want to book some
hotels or tours as well as train tickets, reputable
agency www.reddottours.com will book train tickets for you if you're
also booking £300 or more of other tours and accommodation with them.

Two
views of Colombo Fort Station.
Photos courtesy of Paul White.

Can you help improve this
page?

If you have comments, suggestions, more information or photos
that might improve this page and help fellow travellers,
please
e-mail me!

Sponsored links...

This scenic train ride is the way to reach Kandy,
121 km by rail from Colombo, or the hill station at
Nuwara Eliya.
The ride onwards to Badulla, into the hill country, is
also wonderful, and probably the best train ride in Sri
Lanka. Travel in the 1st class observation car is
recommended, and if possible on an InterCity Express
train. Watch the video: Tea Country by
Train.

Exo = One or two privately-run ExpoRail air-conditioned
carriages are attached to these trains, with at-seat catering & WiFi
see
www.exporail.lk with online booking available.
See this news article with photos. The special
fare from Colombo to Kandy is 1,450 rupees,
children aged 3-11 1500 rupees. Colombo to Badulla
costs 2,250 rupees, children 1,700 rupees.

Raj = One or two privately-run Rajadhani
Express air-conditioned carriages with reclining leather seats are
attached to these trains. Special fare
Colombo-Kandy 1,100 rupees, Colombo-Badulla
1,750 rupees, see
www.rajadhani.lk for more info & online booking.
It runs daily on the 15:35 Colombo-Kandy & 06:15
Kandy-Colombo. On the 08:15 Colombo-Badulla it runs
daily except Wednesdays. On the 10:00 Badulla to
Colombo it runs daily except Thursdays.

Nuwara Eliya (City of
lights) is a colonial hill station 2,000 metres above
sea level, surrounded by tea plantations It's easy
to reach by train. The station is Nanu Oya, 6 km
from central Nuwara Eliya, with plenty of taxis and
auto-rickshaws available. It's also possible to
walk.

Peradeniya Junction
is 6km (3Ĺ miles) from Kandy. Take a taxi or tuk-tuk
or bus here to board
trains for Hatton, Nanu Oya, Elle & Badulla if they don't call at Kandy.

Traveller's reports...

Traveller Antony Smith reports
"All the windows in the 1st observation car opened fully
so, though it was a baking hot day, the carriage was
wonderfully breezy and naturally cooled. And yes there
are only two pairs of seats with uninterrupted views
through the rear observation window, but to be honest
the best views are to the sides anyway rather than back
down the track. And there's a great child-like
pleasure to be had from sticking your head out of an
open side window, which you can't do in the seats
directly in front of the rear observation window. I do
agree about not wanting to be locked into a 'tour bus'
environment with only other tourists for company, but
passengers in the 1st observation car on the day we
travelled were a real mix of Westerners and Sri Lankans.
We took a peek at the ExpoRail 'luxury' carriage (which
now also does the train we were on, the 05.55 Podi
Menike from Colombo). It is undoubtedly
comfortable, though not luxurious in my opinion, and has
the advantage of online booking and on-board catering.
But it lacked the old-fashioned charm of the 1st
observation car and looked to be a 100% tourist only
experience, mostly tour groups."

Traveller
Graeme Thorley reports "I thought the observation car to
Kandy was okay although it requires you to travel
backwards (in my case at least) which is not to
everyone's taste. It also got incredibly hot (36įC
at one point) due to the large window and there were
only a limited number of seats that had a really good
view. Rather irritatingly on my outbound trip two of
these were occupied by people who slept for most of the
trip..! The other point is that the carriage was
occupied almost entirely by Westerners - this might be
considered a good thing but personally I felt it left me
more remote from the travelling experience. On the
train to Anaradhapura several locals stopped to chat,
practise their English, exchange complaints about the
delays etc. I also bumped into one of the families I had
met on the train whilst sightseeing (they recognised me)
and we had another chat. I find that sort of thing an
important part of travelling."

Traveller Paul White reports "Donít panic if you
canít get a ticket for the 1st class air conditioned
trains to Kandy. 2nd class is more than adequate,
but do try & get a window seat. The best side to sit on
for scenery is the right hand side as you face forward
from Colombo to Kandy, as this will give you the best
views once you get past Rambukkana. Do be brave
and try the food on the trains! Many vendors will wander
up and down selling cold drinks, fruit, spicy snacks and
so on at reasonable prices."

Looking back along the track from the observation car.
Courtesy of Marilyn Le Ruyet

The new Chinese-built Blue
Trains...

New Chinese-built 'Blue trains' have been
introduced on several departures on the route
from Colombo to Kandy & Badulla. Above left, the 1st
class cars on these trains are air-conditioned
and even have video screens, although they are
already a bit knocked about! There is no
observation car on thee new blue trains.
Photos courtesy of Roger Smith.

Whilst most tourists buy
first class tickets without thinking it through, you may actually prefer
the 2nd class non-air-conditioned cars (pictured, above right) on
these 'Blue Trains', as the windows open with a cool breeze wafting in,
there are no distracting video screens and it's much easier to see and
photograph the scenery. Photos courtesy of Chris Rowland.

The Expo Rail carriage...

Expo Rail carriage: A couple of trains on
the Colombo-Kandy-Badulla route have a
privately-run Expo Rail carriage attached, see
www.exporail.lk.
Photos courtesy of Seran Karunaharan.

A great way to reach the cities of
Galle and Matara, by train along the coast... 2nd class
is the recommended option, as 3rd class gets too crowded. The
Colombo-Galle fare is
only about Rs.65 (£0.50/$1) one-way in 2nd class for the
116 km.
Colombo to Matara is about Rs.90 2nd class. Engineering work that affected
this line last year is now over.

Trains link
Colombo with Anuradhapura, Vavunia & now Jaffna. In 1990 trains stopped operating
to Jaffna or Talaimannar Pier (previously the ferry terminal for India)
because of the security problems in that area, but in September 2013 trains
were reinstated as far as Kilinochchi, from early 2014 as far as Pallai and
finally the line to Jaffna reopened in mid-October 2014.

Sponsored links...

◄◄
Hotel search & price comparison.

www.hotelscombined.com
checks all the main hotel booking sites at once to find the widest choice of
hotels & the cheapest seller. It was named as the World's Leading Hotel
Comparison Site at the World Travel Awards 2013 and I highly recommend it, both
to find hotels in even the smallest places and to check that another retailer
isn't selling your hotel for less!

www.booking.com
is my favourite booking site. It's really clear and you can usually book with free
cancellation and so confirm your accommodation at no risk months before train
booking opens.

Other hotel sites worth trying...

www.booking.com is my own preferred hotel booking
system (Hotels Combined being a search/comparison
system). It has a simple interface, a good
selection in most countries worldwide, useful online
customer reviews of each hotel, and decent prices,
usually shown inclusive of unavoidable extras such as
taxes (a pet hate of mine is systems that show one
price, then charge you another!).

Backpacker
hostels...

www.hostelbookers.com: If you're on a tight budget,
don't forget about backpacker hostels. Hostelbookers
offers online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in
backpacker hostels in most cities at rock-bottom prices.

After many years of being cut off from each other, a new ferry service
started between Colombo in Sri Lanka and Tuticorin in India
in June 2011, website
www.flemingoliners.com. The modern cruise
ferry 'Scotia Prince' started sailing twice a week in
each direction, leaving at
18:00 and arriving at 08:00 next morning, although
sailing days changed from week to week. All
passengers got a sleeping berth in a cabin, fares ranged
from 2,243 Indian rupees (about £47 or $77) in an economy
class single-berth cabin to 2,760 Indian rupees (£58 or
$95) in a super deluxe single-berth cabin, all fares
included a non-alcoholic 'welcome aboard' drink and a
fixed-menu dinner. They had aspirations to make
it a daily service in due course. However, due to
a dispute over money owed to the caterers(!), the ferry
was impounded in December 2011,
and isn't currently running. The operator isn't sure when
(or if) it
will resume. A second ferry service, between Rameswaram and Talaimannar
was rumoured to be starting by
the end of 2011, but again no details are available and
nothing seems to have happened. So currently no
ferries at all link India with Sri Lanka.

Travel
insurance

Take out decent travel insurance, it's essential...

Never travel overseas without travel insurance from a reliable
insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover. It should also cover
cancellation and loss of cash and belongings, up to a sensible
limit.
An annual
multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip
policies even for just 2 or 3 trips
a year, I have an annual policy myself. Here are some suggested insurers.
Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these
links.

Carry a spare credit card, designed for foreign travel with no currency
exchange loading & low or no ATM fees...

It costs nothing to take out an extra credit card.
If you keep it in a different part of your luggage so you're
not left stranded if
your wallet gets stolen, this is a form of extra travel insurance in itself. In addition,
some credit cards are significantly better for
overseas travel than others. Martin Lewis's
www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money
explains which UK credit cards have the lowest currency
exchange commission loadings when you buy something
overseas, and the lowest cash withdrawal fees when you use
an ATM abroad. Taking this advice can save you quite a
lot on each trip compared to using your normal high-street
bank credit card!

You can avoid ATM charges and expensive exchange rates with a
Caxton FX euro currency Visa Card, or their
multi-currency 'Global Traveller' Visa Card, see
www.caxtonfx.com for info.

Get an international SIM card
to save on mobile data and phone calls...

Mobile phones can cost a fortune to use abroad, and if you're
not careful you can return home to find a huge bill.
Consider
buying a global pre-paid SIM card for your mobile phone from
www.Go-Sim.com, which can slash costs by up to 85%. Go-Sim
cuts call costs in 175 countries worldwide,
and you can receive incoming calls and texts for free in 75 countries. It's pay-as-you-go, so no nasty bills
when you get home. It also allows cheap data access for laptops
& PDAs. A Go-Sim account and any credit on it doesn't
expire if it's not used between trips, unlike some
others, so a Go-Sim phone number becomes your 'global phone
number' for life.